| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 28 (ANTARA) - Indonesia may have two simultaneous elections in 2019 - one at the national level for the election of legislators and the president, while the other would be at the local level for the election of regional government heads. Many legislators, ministers and even the President are in favour of having simultaneous elections in 2019 in light of the fact that the new method would save time, reduce costs and spare voters the trouble of going to the polls too often. Most agree that national and local elections should be held simultaneously in 2019, but there is also suggestion that the national legislative and presidential elections should be held simultaneously in 2014. Since Indonesia has direct presidential elections, the legislative and presidential elections have been organized sequentially. These two elections are held separately from the regional elections, which follow a different schedule. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) faction in the House of Representatives (DPR) has already drafted a plan on conducting simultaneous elections. "Based on the plan, the simultaneous elections should only be held twice in five years. One will be a national election for president to be held simultaneously with the election of members of DPR, members of Local Legislative Assembly (DPRD), and members of Regional Representative Council (DPD). The other will be a simultaneous election for regional heads (Pilkada). And the members of each institution will have a five year term of office," PDIP member Arif explained. He stated that simultaneous national and local elections could not be conducted before 2019 "because a lot of preparation is needed, including revision of Law No. 42/2008 on the presidential election". "Currently, the House of Representatives (DPR) is taking the initiative to amend the law. We are providing inputs on how to develop an effective and stable government," Arif said during a meeting on simultaneous elections, held here on Friday. The national and local elections can be held simultaneously in 2019 only if the law on presidential election can be revised by the end of this year. Arif said there would be a lot of debate before a framework to conduct simultaneous local and national elections could be finalized. "However, it is possible to organize simultaneous legislative and presidential elections in 2014. We still have 18 months to prepare for such an election," he pointed out. "Simultaneous local and national elections cannot be held before 2019 because time is needed to carry out a transition in the regional government leadership and to do other adjustments," Arif added. Meanwhile, his colleague Ganjar Pranowo, the deputy chairman of the House of Representatives' Commission II on home affairs, said it would be difficult to conduct simultaneous presidential and legislative elections in 2014. "The possibility of having a presidential election and legislative elections simultaneously this time is very small. Only the PDIP was open to the idea; other factions in the House did not respond to it," he noted. Ganjar explained that simultaneous elections cannot be possibly carried out in 2014 because the House and the government did not have the time to amend the presidential election law. However, he acknowledged that simultaneous presidential and legislative elections would save time and money and also help organisers manage the elections more efficiently. Therefore, Ganjar added, a simultaneous presidential and legislative election "could lead to more structured and systematic elections". Home affairs minister Gamawan Fauzi said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was in favour of simultaneous regional elections. "I have reported to him about it. He agreed and asked me to regulate it. Actually, the President is all for the idea if it improves efficiency," he said at the presidential palace last month. He stated that combining the elections of provincial governors, district heads and mayors would not only save time and money but also "improve the quality of the elections". "Every two days we hear about elections of district heads here and there. It seems the country has elections all the time," Gamawan pointed out. However, the minister said his office was still examining the feasibility of simultaneous elections system and would discuss the draft law on elections at the parliament. Meanwhile, General Elections Commission (KPU) member Hadar Nafis Gumay stated that simultaneous national and local elections would help organizers better manage the elections. "The organizers can manage the elections more efficiently and effectively if they are held at the same time," he said during a meeting on simultaneous elections, held here on Friday. "The KPU could focus their attention on providing comprehensive guidance and directives and thereby organize the elections in a better way if they are held at the same time," Hadar added. He said the KPU was of the view that a legal framework should first be developed in order to pave the way for simultaneous elections. As the organizer, the KPU will just follow the law, Hadar explained. "There are two models of simultaneous elections that may be implemented - the first being simultaneous legislative and presidential elections and the second being simultaneous local government head elections," Hadar went on. "Thus, in five years, there will be only two elections, namely the national elections and the local government elections," he pointed out.***1*** |
Jumat, 28 September 2012
TOWARDS SIMULTANEOUS LOCAL AND NATIONAL ELECTIONS
TWO MEGAPROJECTS EXPECTD TO LINK JAVA, SUMATRA
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 28 (ANTARA) - The government is now planning to build two major projects which are expected to link economic activities between Java and Sumatra, involving a total budget of about US$59.1 billion.
The two megaprojects are the 27.4 km Sunda Strait Bridge (JSS) worth US$27.8 billion and the 2,000 km Trans Sumatra toll road valued at US$31.25 billion.Expected to help improve the flow of goods and human transportation, as well as to help generate economic development on the two islands of Java and Sumatra, the two megaprojects are scheduled for completion by 2025. So far, land transportation from Sumatra to Java and vice versa has been achieved through the Trans-Sumatra highways and the ferry services between Bakauheni port in the eastern tip of Sumatra and Merak harbor in the western tip of Java. |
Kamis, 27 September 2012
MINISTER URGED TO SAVE TELKOMSEL FROM BANKRUPTCY
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 27 (ANTARA) - Indonesia's largest cellular phone operator PT Telkomsel, a subsidiary of state-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom, is appealing a district court verdict declaring it bankrupt. A Central Jakarta district court has ruled in favor of PT Prima Jaya Informatika which had filed a bankruptcy lawsuit against Telkomsel. In order to safeguard PT Telkomsel from bankruptcy, Minister of Communications and Informatics Tifatul Sembiring and other legislators have called on State-owned Enterprise Minister Dahlan Iskan to help PT Telkomsel, the largest state cellular phone operator which boasts of over 100 million customers. "In the case of Telkomsel, Dahlan Iskan is the most competent authority as he is the minister for state-owned company. Telkomsel is a state firm and is a subsidiary of state-owned PT Telkom. So, Minister Dahlan is most competent to help it," the communications minister said on Thursday. Tifatul added it was not wise for the Ministry of Communications and Informatics to look into and involved itself too far in the legal dispute of Telkomsel. Legislator Maruarar Sirait of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) faction also expressed hope that PT Telkomsel would be safeguarded from the bankruptcy verdict of the Central Jakarta District Court. "Telkomsel has so far contributed a lot to the state in the form of taxes. Therefore, it should be safeguarded. All stakeholders should provide their full support," Sirait said on Thursday. PT Telekomunikasi Seluler Tbk (Telkomsel) appealed to the Commercial Court on Friday last week against the Central Jakarta District Court's verdict which ruled in favour of a bankruptcy lawsuit filed by PT Prima Jaya Informatika (PJI). "We file an appeal at the Commercial Court today (Friday, Sept 21, last week) because our client is not satisfied with the judges' decision to declare Telkomsel bankrupt," Telkomsel lawyer Ricardo Simanjuntak said. He added that Telkomsel filed the appeal as his side considered that the judges reached their verdict by only seeing one aspect, while ignoring other legal facts. "The hearing should have also considered these legal aspects. There was even a judge who quoted a different statement from an expert witness," he said. Simanjuntak stressed that the court should have dealt with this properly. He said further that PT Prima Jaya Informatika filed the lawsuit against Telkomsel for terminating their work contract. PJI actually failed to meet its 'Kartu Prima' card sales obligation, because of which Telkomsel did not fulfill the request of PJI for 'Kartu Prima' cards. It was reported that on September 14, 2012 Central Jakarta District Court judges, chaired by Judge Agus Iskandar, in their verdict declared PT Telkomsel bankrupt, after PT Prima Jaya Informatika, distributor of Kartu Prima card voucher, filed a bankruptcy lawsuit at the court. Telkomsel and Prima Jaya Informatika announced a partnership on June 1, 2011 for a period until June 2013, with the agreement that Telkomsel would provide vouchers with a special sports theme to Prima Jaya. But the partnership ended up in a dispute in June 2012 when Telkomsel terminated the contract because it considered that Prima Jaya had failed to meet the required conditions. Prima Jaya Informatika then filed a bankruptcy lawsuit against Telkomsel at the court because it viewed that Telkomsel still had a debt amounting to Rp5.3 billion based on the terminated contract. It was also proven that Telkomsel had debts payable to PT Prima Jaya Informatika and to a number other creditors, like PT Extend Media Indonesia, amounting to Rp21,031,561,274 and Rp19,294,652,520, respectively. According to the court, the lawsuit filed by PT Prima Jaya Informatika met the conditions as set in Article 2 Point (2) of the Bankruptcy Law. In its legal battle against the verdict, Minister Tifatul Sembiring suggested that the Supreme Court should take fair steps with regard to the legal case of Telkomsel which had appealed to the commercial court in Central Jakarta. "From the logical perspective, it is impossible for a company with assets worth hundreds of trillions of rupiah to be sued and declared bankrupt only because of a debt amounting to Rp5.7 billion. I think the MA needs to pay attention to this. The court must also be fair enough to see these considerations," noted Tifatul Sembiring. He added that PT Telkom was one of those state companies where the state had the biggest stake. "So, these aspects must be considered," explained Tifatul. According to legislator Maruarar Sirait, PT Telcomsel with over 100 million customers is a state asset that should be safeguarded. Its contributions to the state in the form of taxes are very significant. Legislator Roy Suryo of the ruling Democratic Party (PD) and a member of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission I on information has also called on the government, particularly the Ministry of State Enterprises (SOE) to take a step with regard to the bankruptcy verdict. He supported his colleague Maruarar Sirait, who called on SOE Minister Dahlan Iskan to help PT Telkomsel. Minister Dahlan Iskan said last week that he supported PT Telkom's efforts to help settle the bankruptcy problem facing one of its subsidiaries. "State-owned Telkom can appeal to the higher court. Telkom is a big company which has qualified lawyers who are capable of settling its legal problems," Minister Iskan said. He said that he had previously been informed of the case by the members of the board of directors. "I have been informed of the matter but because this is a matter of corporation, I do not want to interfere and it should be overcome through legal corporate means," Iskan added. Dahlan said further that he had asked for the reason of the management of Telkomsel to terminate the contract. "They (members of the board of directors) said the contract clearly disadvantaged Telkomsel, so was decided to be terminated," the minister said. He added that in the future, all contracts which are disadvantageous, not only to Telkomsel but also to other state-owned companies, must be terminated. "We cannot tolerate problematic contracts. Disadvantageous contracts hamper the development of state-owned companies," he added.***2*** |
ASYLUM SEEKERS MAKE INDONESIA TRANSIT POINT
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 27 (ANTARA) - In the past several years, Indonesia has become a transit point for illegal immigrants from various countries seeking asylum in Australia. This year alone, based on ANTARA's rough records, at least 1,500 illegal immigrants seeking asylum in Australia have been stranded in Indonesia or have been arrested by the Indonesian authorities for further investigation. They came from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and other Middle East countries. On their way to Australia, they ran ashore or were stranded in various provinces in Indonesia. Up to September this year, Indonesian authorities have handled at least 900 illegal asylum seekers in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, 147 in Mataram (West Nusa Tenggara), 160 in Karawang (West Java), 93 in Padang (West Java), 60 in Madiun (East Java), 55 in Cilegon (Banten), 53 in Serang (Banten), 23 in Sukabumi (West Java), 23 in Lampung and 6 in Bali. Around 900 asylum seekers ran ashore in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara alone, this year. East Nusa Tenggara is considered an ideal transit point as Australia is just a short boat ride from the province. The head of the local immigration office of Kupang, Silvester Sili Laba, stated recently that the biggest arrest was made in June, when 87 illegal immigrants were arrested in Sumba waters. He said that all the illegal immigrants were held at the immigration detention centres, but 11 of them managed to escape and were still at large. "For the immigrants from Middle-Eastern countries as well as those from Afghanistan and Pakistan, the East Nusa Tenggara waters offer the safest transit route to Australia, which is their dreamland of freedom and hope," Silvester noted. "The fishermen get lured by the big sums of money that the immigrants offer in exchange for transportation to Australia. They do not consider the dangers involved or the law. Rote, Sabu, Sumba and Kupang islands are the usual points of departure," Silvester went on. Indonesia's federal director for consular affairs Chalief Akbar pointed out that human smuggling had become a lucrative business. "According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), such issues constitute the dark side of globalization and have created new problems for recipient countries," he added. The most recent case was the arrest of 160 illegal immigrants from Afghanistan in Karawang, West Java. However, 38 of them fled before they reached Karawang and 13 others fled before being sent to Cisarua on Wednesday. The immigration office of Karawang sent 109 illegal immigrants to the Cisarua detention center in Bogor, West Java. The immigration office could not hold the illegal immigrants too long in Karawang as there is no accommodation facility for them in the city, according to M Tito Andrianto, an official of the Karawang Immigration Office. Tito said that the illegal immigrants were sent to Cisarua for their own convenience and safety. ¿When they were at the Hajj dormitory, the illegal immigrants always tried to break away,¿ he said. The second biggest number of arrests of illegal immigrants took place in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). From January to August this year, a total of 147 asylum seekers were arrested by police and military personnel in the area. Of the 147, 41 managed to flee and the remaining immigrants were detained across different detention centres. "We held them in various detention centres in Mataram because we don¿t have one in Lombok, yet," Dorhan of the Mataram Immigration office said. A similar case was reported in West Sumatra, where as many as 96 undocumented Sri Lankan immigrants were arrested in the Mentawai Islands in Padang after they arrived illegally travelling by two sea-routes. "We moved off by using two boats, one left from Sri Lanka and the other from India," one of the immigrants, Ravi Kumar, told officers from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) last week. The two groups departed from the two locations and met up in Mentawai, where one boat malfunctioned. The boat from India departed with 43 illegal immigrants, while the other left Sri Lanka with 53 illegal immigrants. The 96 undocumented immigrants were on their way to Australia. The group of 53 immigrants from Sri Lanka has been held in the Sikakap sports hall in the Mentawai Islands district, while the other immigrants were sent to an immigration detention center in Pekanbaru on Thursday morning. Padang immigration authorities have moved 43 out of the 96 immigrants from Sri Lanka to the immigration detention centre in Pekanbaru for further investigation. In Madiun, East Java, head of the immigration office Hermansyah Siregar said that they held 60 illegal immigrants from the Middle East, who had been arrested by police in the Pacitan regency, early this month. Hermansyah said that 51 of the illegal immigrants were from Iraq, five from Kuwait and four from Iran. The gender classification stood at 54 men, three women and three children. "We do not know yet if they are political refugees seeking asylum. We have yet to make investigations," he said. However, two weeks ago, 21 of the 60 illegal immigrants detained at the Indah Hotel in Madiun escaped. According to initial reports, the immigrants broke the glass windows of their rooms, climbed up the hotel's walls and jumped on to the roofs of the adjoining houses during their night-time escape. Besides that, police in Sukabumi, West Java last week arrested 23 illegal immigrants from Afghanistan and Pakistan, planning to cross over to Australia from Cisolok and Pelabuhan Ratu. "There were arrested following reports from villagers who were suspicious of the presence of foreigners in Karanghawu beach," deputy chief of the Sukabumi resort police, Commissioner Pilemon Ginting, said. He suspected that the immigrants were believed to have come from Cisarua, Bogor and West Java and were caught while trying to travel to Australia at around 10.30am. "All of the immigrants would be taken to the immigration office in Sukabumi," he said. In the tourist resort province of Bali, five illegal immigrants from Afghanistan and Pakistan were arrested at the port of Padangbai, in the regency of Karangasem. Only two of them had immigration documents, according to Karangasem police chief spokesman Adj. Comr. Made Wartama. He said that they landed in Padangbai from the port of Lembar in Lombok, using a ferry boat. After questioning them, the police then handed them over to the immigration office in Denpasar. "We don't have to continue the investigation. This case belongs to the immigration office,¿ Made said. ***1*** |
Selasa, 25 September 2012
GAS PRICE HIKES CAN BOOST INFLATION
Jakarta, Sept 25 (ANTARA) - The government must carefully assess its plan to raise the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in order to ensure that the move does not trigger inflation.
It is feared that the government's plan to raise LPG prices could generate inflation. Moreover, the August inflation rate of 0.95 percent is already higher than the government's earlier projection of 0.7-0.8 percent.
The government's plan to increase the basic tariff of electricity tariff by about 15 percent next year is also likely to boost the annual inflation rate to about 5.1 percent, higher than the 4.8 percent projected by Bank Indonesia (BI).
Therefore, legislator Bobby Rizaldi of the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission VII on energy affairs called on the government to examine the impact of raising the price of non-subsidized LPG before implementing it.
"It should not happen that the hike in the prices of electricity and LPG will cause economic turmoil. Therefore, the government should assess its impact very carefully," he said.
The government is considering the proposal of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina to raise the price of non-subsidized LPG, including that of the 12-kilogramme cylinder gas.
Director General for Oil and Gas Evita Legowo said recently that the government would "study all aspects and potential impacts of the LPG price hike.
"We will discuss it soon," she added.
Marketing and Commercial Director of Pertamina Hanung Budya stated that his company had made a proposal to the government to raise the price of non-subsidized LPG.
"The proposal was made in order to reduce losses suffered from the distribution of non-subsidized LPG, worth Rp5 trillion, in 2012," he explained. Hanung said the price of the 12-kg LPG cylinder was also proposed to be raised because a majority of buyers of the 12-kg gas were 'financially capable' consumers.
"For people who are financially weak, the government is already providing subsidized gas in 3kg cylinders," he added.
Pertamina distributed 3-kg LPG cylinders among 53.9 million households in the country, with LPG consumption reaching 3.6 million tonnes per year.
"The programme has reduced government subsidies," Pertamina President Director Karen Agustiawan noted.
Earlier this year, Pertamina had made a proposal to the government to pass on the financial burden of gas refilling and transportation, worth Rp200 billion, to consumers in order to offset the losses. "We hope it would be approved soon," Hanung said.
At present, Indonesia's domestic consumption of LPG has reached 5 million tonnes per annum. Of the total, 3.6 million tonnes of gas are subsidized and 1.4 million tonnes are non-subsidized. While 2.2 million tonnes come from domestic production, 2.8 million tonnes are being imported.
Therefore, besides raising the price of LPG in the country, the government will also reduce imports and increase production.
According to Vice President Boediono, the government will increase the production capacity of the domestic LPG industry in an effort to reduce the country's dependence on imported energy.
"LPG imports have been growing rapidly and will continue to do so in the future. Therefore, more investment is needed to increase the production capacity of the domestic industry," he said during his speech at the 25th World LPG Forum at Nusa Dua, Bali, recently.
Bobby stated that the government must focus on the potential impact of the LPG price hike on inflation.
"It is a must for the government to examine its impacts. After all it is also planning to increase the price of electricity," he said on Tuesday.
Bobby pointed out that the increase in gas and electricity prices was likely to boost inflation by more than 1 percent, thereby exceeding the 'safe range'.
"It will have a severe impact on people in the lower income bracket as well as on small- and medium-scale enterprises," he added.
Bobby, who is a member of the Golkar Party, expressed hope that businesses that used 12-kg cylinder gas would not suffer from losses. "Raising the gas price should not be done keeping in mind only the operations of Pertamina but also other aspects and impacts," he said.
"Pertamina must take steps to operate more efficiently by reducing its imports of gas and cutting its transportation costs," Bobby added.
His colleague Dito Guninduto also agreed, saying the ¿government should raise the gas price at a time when the people do not feel it as a heavy burden¿.
"The government must study its plan to raise the gas price from various aspects. Pertamina should continue to suffer losses from the 12-kg cylinder gas business because the product is used by financially capable consumers. But the impact on the inflation must be assessed thoroughly," he added.
Meanwhile, Tulus Abadi, a member of the Indonesian Consumers Institute Foundation (YLKI), said the increase in the price of 12-kg cylinder gas would 'make consumers of 21-kg cylinder gas to move to the subsidized 3-kg cylinder gas'.
"Not only that, cases of 'oplosan' (filling 12-kg cylinders with gas from 3-kg units) will increase due to high price differences," he stated.
"This means that the government's subsidy will increase and there will be a scarcity of 3-kg cylinder gas supply in the market," Tulus added.***2***(T.A014/A/KR-BSR/A/A014) 25-09-2012 21:02:
Senin, 24 September 2012
INVESTMENT IN GOLD REMAINS PROMISING
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 24 (ANTARA) - Even though the MACD and RSI indicators are still showing a downward trend in the price of gold, yet Indonesians continue to make investment in gold which they see as a safe haven amid world volatile financial conditions. With the country's relatively high economic growth in the first half of 2012 reaching 6.3 percent, business players are convinced that gold still promises a bright prospect, even if its price fell on Monday compared with that last week. Gold prices peaked at US$1,787 per troy ounce on Friday last week, indicating a strong resistance level at US$1,777, but dropped to US$1,759 per troy ounce on Monday morning, according to an analyst. "The support level is at a range of US$1,751 per troy ounce today. If the prices drop below this level, they will be corrected to about US$1,730," said Ariston Tjandra, an analyst of Research and Analysis Affairs of PT Monex Investindo Futures, here on Monday. He said to judge trade at the beginning of this week, one should focus on data from the Ifo (German institute for economic research) survey. "If the issued data are better than the prediction, that would reinforce gold prices," Ariston said. Yet, this week gold still seems to be preferred as it could serve as safe haven for investors to keep the value of their assets. "Many Indonesian choose to invest money they can spare in gold rather than in other assets including dollar," Ruly Nova, a market observer from Bank Himpunan Saudara, said meanwhile. The increasing optimism in gold prompted state-owned mining company PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) to expand its gold market to various regions it has not yet reached so far. To expand the networks, Antam cooperate with state-owned pawnshop company PT Pegadaian. With the cooperation, Antam will now be able to sell and distribute its gold ingots to those regions, according to its president director Alwinsyah Lubis The memorandum of understanding on the collaboration between the two companies was signed in Bogor recently by Antam President Director Alwinsyah Lubis and PT Pegadaian President Director Suwhono. The two companies have agreed to collaborate in the sale and purchase of gold ingots which are certified by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). As part of the collaboration, PT Antam, through its metal purification and processing business units, will supply LAMB-certified gold bullion to Pegadaian based on daily prices. Pegadaian will resell it through its outlets in different regions across the country. Alwinsyah Lubis said that Antam would be able to expand its gold bullion distribution to previously untouched regions of the country through its collaboration with PT Pegadaian. He said that Antam decided to collaborate with Pegadaian for distribution of its gold ingots after an increasing demand for the commodity was observed. Pegadaian is one of Antam's customers for gold bullion. It sold one ton of gold ingots to Pegadaian in 2011, a dramatic increase over corresponding figures of only 147 kilograms in 2010. In the current second semester of 2012, Pegadaian has purchased up to 1.2 tons of gold ingots from Antam. For this year, PT Pegadaian has set itself a target of purchasing 2.5 tonnes of gold ingots from state mining firm PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) this year. Nearly 1.2 tonnes of the gold ingots have been purchased and the remaining 1.3 tonnes will be bought this month. "Last year, we bought 1.3 tonnes. And this year we will buy 2.5 tonnes," Suwhono said at the State Enterprises Ministry building on Friday. Pegadaian is one of Antam's major gold ingot buyers. In mid-2010, Pegadaian bought gold (147 kg) from Antam for the first time. "The volume of gold we purchased reached almost 1 tonne in 2011," Suwhono noted. This year, Pegadaian expects to sell 2.5 tonnes of gold, of which 1 tonne has already been sold for Rp550 billion. The cooperation between Antam and Pegadaian will make it easier for gold hunters to invest in this commodity throughout the country. Market observer from Bank Himpunan Saudara Ruly Nova said gold price could still rise higher as a result of The Fed's quantitative easing, a monetary policy in a bid to shore up flagging US economy. "The QE policy sends investors hunting for gold triggering a surge in gold price," he said. Meanwhile, the Precious Metal Processing and Purification Unit of state-owned mining company PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) announced gold price at Rp584,200 per gram on Monday. The price of 5-gram gold bars is set at Rp2.771 million and 1-gram bars at Rp5.502 million each Gold prices closed higher on Friday last week due to a weakening US dollar and in anticipation of Spain getting a full bailout package from the European Union. The precious metal's price strengthened in the wake of a new stimulus from the US Federal Reserve, which investors feared would weaken the US dollar. The price of gold for December shipment increased by US$7.80, or 0.4 percent, touching US$1,778 per troy ounce in Comex, a division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. In a week, gold prices rose by about 0.3 percent. Business players therefore still purchase gold as a main commodity for their investments, although the price of gold continues to increase, investment researcher Ariston Tjandra said. "Although gold continues to experience price increases, the public still invests in gold," Ariston, the head of Monex Investindo Futures Research affairs, said. Business players consider that gold still has room to increase in price. This is because the public has begun to become aware that gold could also serve as a hedge for their investments. "If gold undergoes pressures, it is predicted to happen only in the short term. Though it is facing pressures, the public is not concerned because gold prices always show an upward trend," Ariston said.***2*** |
Kamis, 20 September 2012
GOVT HOPES TO ACCELERATE PRODUCTION OF GREEN CARS
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 20 (ANTARA) - After setting a target in July this year to begin mass production of about 10,000 electric cars by 2014, the government has announced its plans to speed up the development of low-cost and green cars (LCGC). "We are now waiting for the President to issue a presidential decree. We expect that it will soon be issued in the coming few days," Industry Minister MS Hidayat said. With a price of not more than US$10,000 (Rp100 million) per unit, LCGC cars will be produced in an effort to reduce fuel oil subsidies provided for conventional vehicles, which burden the state budget. "Therefore, the government is planning to accelerate the development of green car projects," Hidayat said during the launch of Toyota Agya and Daihatsu Ayla cars on Wednesday. "The marketing strategies of Toyota and Daihatsu for the Indonesian market are in line with the government's commitment to developing LCGC cars," he added. Earlier, President Yudhoyono also expressed concern over the fuel subsidy burden and called for stepping up efforts to develop green cars. "We want to move faster and accelerate what we can accelerate," he told a limited cabinet meeting that discussed the development of environmentally friendly cars at the Presidential office on Wednesday. "The rising consumption of subsidized gasoline has burdened the national budget and rendered the subsidy ineffective," the President said. In the 2012 revised state budget, fuel oil subsidies were set at 40 million kilolitres (worth Rp137.5 trillion). Every increase of 1 million kilolitres will raise the budget by Rp3 trillion. Thus, an additional subsidy of 4 million kilolitres of fuel would cost the state Rp12 trillion. The head of state expressed hope that green cars would help reduce demand for gasoline so the funds for subsidising fuel could be used instead for the welfare of the poor. He pointed out that green cars could also help reduce air pollution, especially the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Therefore, Industry Ministry MS Hidayat said President Yudhoyono would soon issue a decree on the development of green or environmentally friendly cars later this year. "Hopefully, it will be issued in a month," he said after attending the limited cabinet meeting on green car development at the Presidential office. According to Hidayat, the decree will outline instructions relating to research and development of green cars. "Various stakeholders, including the government, higher-learning institutes, national economic committee and industries, are in the process of preparing a draft of the decree," he stated. President Yudhoyono said at the recent APEC meeting in Russia that he had spoken with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak about cooperation in manufacturing electric cars. "When I met with Lee Myung Bak during the APEC forum in Ldivostok, Russia, I discussed the possibility of Indonesia and South Korea cooperating in the production of electric cars. President Lee hailed it," he added. Commenting on the proposed plan to cooperate with South Korea in developing green cars, Hidayat said the industry ministry was still examining the plan. "We have yet to decide it. We are still studying whether the cooperation with Korea will be business-to-business. If so, then who will represent Korea?" he added. "The localisation of Toyota Agya and Daihatsu Ayla cars has reached 84 percent. This is an encouraging achievement. Toyota and Daihatzu are expected to ask their sub-contractors in Japan to only invest in components which cannot be produced in Indonesia," he said. Therefore, the industry minister expressed hope that Japanese car component producers could expand their business in Indonesia so more local components would be available for LCGC production. "We hope that the automotive car component industry will develop here in line with the green car programme, so the components that are still being imported can be produced at home," Hidayat said during a hearing of the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission VI on trade and industry affairs. "The development of a local components industry will help in the production of indigenous LCGC components," he noted. "Sole agents should provide better opportunities for the component industry so it can help speed up automobile production in the country," Hidayat stated. "The rising sales of motor vehicles - both two- and four-wheelers - indicate good prospects for this industry in the country," he added. According to Budi Darmadi, the Industry Ministry's director general for high-technology priority industries, the government wants to develop the car component industry in order to boost its annual car sales to about 1 million units by 2014. Four-wheel vehicle sales in 2011 stood at 890,000 units, while the corresponding figure for two-wheel vehicles was 8,000,000 units. "Reinforcing the structure of the country's car component industry will be carried out in both the upstream and downstream sectors in order to reduce the importation of a number of components. We will develop a technology system so these important components can be produced at home and the assembly industry's expenses can be reduced," Budi said. |
Rabu, 19 September 2012
JOKOWI PREDICTED TO WIN JAKARTA GUBERNATORIAL RUNOFF
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 19 (ANTARA) - Two research institutions have predicted that Joko Widodo (paired with Basuki Tjahaja Purnama) will beat rival incumbent Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo (paired with Nachrowi Ramli) by a narrow margin to win the Jakarta gubernatorial runoff on Thursday. The Jokowi-Ahok pair will contest against Foke-Nara in the second round of the Jakarta gubernatorial elections after winning the first round on July 7. Jokowi won 43 percent of the votes, falling short of the 51 percent majority needed to conclusively win the Jakarta gubernatorial elections. In the first round of the polls, there were six pairs of contestants: Fauzi Bowo-Nachrowi Ramli, Hendardji Soepandji-Ahmad Riza Patria, Joko Widodo-Basuki Tjahja Purnama, Hidayat Nur Wahid-Didik J Rachbini, Faisal Basrie-Biem Benjamin and Alex Nurdin-Nono Sumpono. A former Jakarta deputy governor (during the term of governor Sutiyoso), Fauzi Bowo is the incumbent Jakarta governor who rose to the position after winning the gubernatorial elections five years ago. Jokowi is the incumbent mayor of Solo, Central Java. Research institutions, PoliticaWave and Indo Barometer, have predicted that the Jokowi-Ahok pair was likely to win the elections runoff 'by a nose'. Their predictions are based on social media monitoring results. "Based on the results of media monitoring up to September 12, 2012, 54.9 percent people were in favour of the Jokowi-Ahok pair, while the remaining 45.1 percent supported the Foke-Nara pair," said Yose Rizal, the director of PoliticaWave, on Tuesday. The possible defeat of Foke-Nara was also predicted by survey institute Indo Barometer. "We make the prediction based on the results of a survey by daily Kompas, which was published today," Indo Barometer Director M Qodari said on Thursday last week. The results of the survey indicated a slim victory for the Jokowi-Ahok pair over the Foke-Nara pair. "The victory of Jokowi could be predicted on basis of the contestants' electability, attitude and competence," Qodari explained. "Regarding electability, the Jokowi-Ahok pair has a higher electability figure of 45.13 percent, compared with that of the Foke-Nara duo, which has 37.53 percent," he added. Meanwhile, Yose Rizal stated: "The Jokowi-Ahok pair won more positive sentiments with an index of 18.51 percent, while the Foke-Nara partner won more negative sentiments with an index of 11.38 percent." He said the social media monitoring results also indicated that SARA (sensitive issues of religious, racial, ethnic and group differences) did not influence voters¿ decisions. Basuki Tjahja Purnama, or Ahok, who is an ethnic Chinese Indonesian, was formerly a district head in Bangka Belitung province, Sumatra. His Chinese and religious backgrounds have not negatively affected his electability. "Even though certain parties have allegedly raised the SARA issue, we found that it did not affect the sentiments of internet users or net citizens," Yose noted. "Jakarta voters are becoming increasingly smart and their decision is influenced by corruption and human rights issues rather than SARA issues,¿ he pointed out. Yose explained that his analysis was based on the monitoring of more than 2 million conversations in various social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs and other forums. Qodari also based his assessment on social media monitoring. "I came to this conclusion [that Jokowi would win] after taking into account the vote percentage of both contestants, which was collected in the first round of elections, multiplied by their respective loyal voters. I have also factored in additional voters among the supporters of contestants who failed in the first round. All of it is based on the figures of the Kompas survey," he explained. "The second aspect is the public assessment of the contestants¿ positive attitude and competence, where the Jokowi-Ahok pair gets higher credit than the Foke-Nara pair. The Jokowi-Ahok pair is more popular in the upper circles of voters, particularly among the upper middle class," Qodari added. The survey results indicate that only 15 percent of the 'highly educated' voters assessed that the competence level of Foke-Nara was higher than that of Jokowi-Ahok. Some 45 percent felt the Jokowi-Ahok duo was more competent, while 40 percent felt both pairs had the same level of competence. Among the 'middle-educated' voters, 25 percent considered the competence level of Foke-Nara to be higher than that of their competitors. Some 34 percent felt the Jokowi-Ahok pair was more competent, while 41 percent said both pairs had the same competence levels. Lastly, 26 percent of 'low-educated' voters felt that Foke-Nara's competence was higher than that of Jokowi-Ahok. Approximately 35 percent considered the Jokowi-Ahok pair to be more competent, while 39 percent voters in the segment felt that both competitors had the same competence levels. Therefore, Joko is seen as a strong candidate for Jakarta governor. However, Fauzi enjoys the support of the ruling party and other members of the coalition parties under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Joko is supported only by Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) and the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra). Ahead of the runoff on Thursday (September 20 ), he was a picture of humility. "Our target with the supporters, sympathizers, volunteers and parties is to work hard," Joko stated. He said if he won the elections, he would start his development efforts from Jakarta's slum areas. Development of Jakarta should not start from the big business centres of Kuningan, Thamrin and Kota. Jakarta's slums will need to be developed into a healthy and environmentally friendly residential area, according to him. "We will also improve the drainage system and develop townships with green and open public areas. The Jakarta city administration has a large budget. What it needs is determination to turn plans into reality," Joko pointed out.***1*** |
Senin, 17 September 2012
NU SAYS CORRUPT COUNTRY DESERVES NO TAXES
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 17 (ANTARA) - One can imagine what will happen if people do not pay taxes in a country such as Indonesia, in which a majority of development projects are funded by taxes. Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which has reportedly more than 30 million members, has raised questions on the people's obligation to pay taxes, on grounds that corrupt officials siphon off the revenue. "If the government fails to tackle corruption seriously and does not manage taxes well, we will call for a moratorium on tax payment, at least for NU members," NU General Chairman Said Aqil Siroj said during the National Meeting of Ulamas and NU Congress at Kempek Boarding School in Cirebon, West Java, on Sunday. Earlier in Jakarta, he stated that people should stop paying taxes temporarily until the government proved its commitment to managing taxes for the welfare of the people. "Based on religious regulations, paying taxes is not an obligation. It is different from paying 'zakat' (alms). There is no obligation for Muslims to pay tax. They only have the obligation to pay zakat," said Said Aquil, who has a doctorate from the Ummul Qura University of Mecca. He noted that tax payment was only part of the obligation to abide by the government regulations. "But the problem is that the taxes are siphoned off by corrupt officials. So, do we still have the obligation to pay taxes?" Said Aquil asked. "Therefore, this is a strong warning for the government to seriously and comprehensively improve its tax management system so that taxes are not stolen away," he added. Said Aquil said NU demanded that taxes collected from the people be managed with full commitment to the welfare of the people, corruption at tax agencies be eliminated, and tax thieves be taken to court and given harsh punishment. If the government took the necessary steps, he added, NU would support its regulations and call on NU members to pay taxes. General Chairman of NU Scholars Association (ISNU) Ali Masykur Musa stated that the discussion among NU members on whether to continue paying taxes should be construed by the government as a warning from the biggest Muslim organization. "This should be viewed as NU's commitment to the country," Ali Masykur said on the sidelines of the congress. He noted that taxes were the biggest source of revenue for the state, accounting for about 70 percent of the total state budget. "If the 2013 draft state budget is set at Rp1,540 trillion, some Rp1,200 trillion will come from taxes. Therefore, NU warns the government and tax officials against playing around with taxes," Ali Masykur added. The Deputy Secretary General of NU Women organization, Zannuba Arifah Chafsoh, also urged the government to improve its tax management system. "This is a serious warning. The government should introspect," said Zannuba, the daughter of former president Abdurrahmah Wahid. Meanwhile, Coordinator of the Clean Indonesian Movement (GIB) Adhie Massardi explained that the NU's threat to stop paying taxes was in line with the response of middle-ranked NU ulamas (Muslim scholars) to increasing corruption in the government. According to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2011, Indonesia ranked 100 out of 183 countries in the world, with a score of 3.0. The score increased by 0.2, compared with previous year's 2.8. In 2010, Indonesia was ranked 110 out of 178 countries. In 2009, it ranked 111th out of 180 nations. "I think there is discontent among our friends in NU who reckon that people in the upper ranks, or leaders of the Central Board of NU, are too close to the people in power. And because of that such people are unable to criticize the government for the poor socio-political and economic conditions in the country," said Adhie, who is also former presidential spokesman of former president Wahid. He stated that officials in the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of the state seemed to be carried away by the rising wave of corruption. "The way of our friends in NU plan to offer resistance to a corrupt regime is reflected in our slogan, 'boycott paying taxes', as most of taxes could be seen misused," Adhie stated. "Behind the boycott slogan is the spirit of civil resistance, such as ones waged by Mahatma Gandhi in India against the British government," he said. "Unfortunately, the spirit of resistance to the corrupt regime was present only within the middle ranks of NU, not within its upper leaders. So, the call for boycott seemed half-hearted," Adhie noted. "Therefore, government officials have also been invited to the meeting and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to close the event," he explained. With regard to the management of taxes in the country, legislator Nusron Wahid pointed out that tax reforms had been put in place but the desired results were not achieved. "The government has carried out tax reforms. But there is no point if the results are not achieved," said Nusron, who is also the deputy chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission XI on financial affairs, in Cirebon. "Tax reforms have helped raise the ratio of tax receipts against the gross domestic product, from 11 percent to 12 percent. The government is taking actions against tax evaders," he stated. Therefore, the legislator expressed concerns over NU's call to boycott taxes. "If people do not pay tax, the government would have no funds to finance education or infrastructure development," noted Nusron, who is also the general chairman of the Anshor Movement, a youth organization of NU. "I hope this is just a warning to the government so that it steps up its efforts to eliminate corruption," the Golkar Party member said. Nusran¿s colleague Bachruddin Nashori, from the House Commission III on legal affairs, agreed with him, saying that the NU only intended to warn the government. "I am convinced the NU Executive Board will not issue a religious advice or fatwa that state taxes should not be paid. I agree that the move is a call for the government to manage taxes well," Bachrudin added.***1*** |
Sabtu, 15 September 2012
PEOPLE REJECT CERTIFICATION OF PREACHERS
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 15 (ANTARA) - Different segments of society have voiced their opposition to the idea of certifying religious preachers, allegedly proposed by the National Agency for Terrorism Handling (BNPT), in order to reduce radicalism in the country. Even though BNPT head Ansyaad Mbai has denied that his agency made such a proposal, the discourse on and rejection of the need for ulemas (Muslim Scholars) to be certified continues to trigger debates. Ansyaad Mbai said his agency had never conducted research on the need for preachers to possess certification before they could deliver sermons. Yet recent media reports carried stories that the agency had raised the idea on the need for ulemas to be certified to prevent the spread of radicalism. The discourse came up following a number of terror-related incidents in the country, such as an explosion in Depok, West Java, the confiscation of explosive materials in Jakarta, and a series of shootings of terror suspects in Solo, Central Java, in recent days. "This is misquoted. This is wrong (the reports). What is right is that he (Irfan Idris, the director for responding to radicalism for BNPT) was explaining at a seminar about the example of Singapore, where ulemas are certified. We are not proposing a certification. So please correct this mistake," Ansyaad was quoted as saying on Monday by Bisnis Indonesia's online website. Yet, the issue has become a matter of public discourse this week. Sociologist Nia Elovina of the National University said it was normal for the Ministry of Religious Affairs to propose a policy for certifying ulamas. "If university lecturers and school teachers can be certified, why can¿t Muslim scholars be certified to guarantee their credibility?" she asked. She said that in recent days there were many cases of conflicts which involved religious adherents. "I think, to overcome these conditions, certification of preachers is needed," she said. The idea, however, was rejected by different quarters, such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU/the country's largest Muslim organization), legislators, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), preachers association and others. "The government should not go that far," stressed General Chairman of NU Executive Board, Said Aqil Siro. He said the name ulama was a kind of title given by Muslim community to preachers as a token of recognition of their religious knowledge. It was not a title given by the government. So it is not appropriate, according to Said, for the government to provide the title through a certification program. "The title kiai (Muslim scholars), utadz (religious teachers) or ulama are titles given by the people, not by the government," noted Said, who holds a doctorate degree from the Ummul Qura University of Mecca. He added that if the government had yet to be successful in reducing radicalism, it was not due to the small role preachers had so far played. The Ulama Council (MUI) for West Java also rejected the idea, saying that the proposal for certification is unreasonable. "I think this is inconsequential. After all, it concerns the credibility of ulamas," West Java MUI chairman Hafidz Utsman said. The West Sumatra chapter MUI believes that a plan to implement a certification program of ulemas to counter terrorism would not be effective. "Terrorists are members of exclusive groups and would never expose their ideas to the public", said Gusrizal Gazahar of the West Sumatra MUI. He added that terrorists would only pass on their ideas to their recruits, making it difficult to isolate and identify radicals. "Therefore, it would not be easy to select those who need to be certified and need to be prevented from spreading radical ideas. If the ulema certification program is, indeed, carried out, there should be clear indicators for its implementation to avoid problems in the future", he stated It would become a slanderous thing if preachers are certified due to terrorism issues or due to the desire of the government to reduce radicalism. It will leave the impression that preachers are the instigators of terrorism. Ulamas and terrorists have no relations, he said. "So, one should not relate ulamas to terrorism," Idris stressed. The same rejection also comes from a legislator. "I reject and criticize the idea of certifying ulamas," Indra, a member of the Justice Party Faction of the House of Representatives (DPR) said. He added that any titles such as "kiai," "ustadz," and "buya," (senior religious leader) are given by the public as a token of recognition of ulemas' rich religious knowledge. "The titles are given by the public, not by the government, based on their religious knowledge," he said. He said that the idea to certify ulamas was an effort to control or restrict religious sermons and constitutes an action by an authoritarian government. "If applied, it would be a return to the authoritarian order in the past," the legislator warned. Deputy Chairman of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) La Ode Ida added that the idea to certify ulamas as part of an effort to reduce radicalism could not be put into practice. "Ulamas should not be certified. The definition of ulama is a person who has deep knowledge (about Islam). Thus, all who have much knowledge (about Islamd) are ulamas. So, the degree of the Islamic knowledge of a person cannot be measured," La Ode Ida said on Wednesday. He also said that recognition of knowledge about religions could not be taken over by the state. "Ulama is ulama. So, let the ulama title be recognized independently and it should not receive confirmation from the state," he noted. He added that terrorism occurs due to injustice and poverty. Terrorists are not satisfied with the government, but they do not have any power to voice their opinions about certain government policies, he said. "Terrorism could happen if there is injustice. But they do not have any power to channel their aspirations," La Ode Ida said.***3*** |
Rabu, 12 September 2012
RI SEEKS FOR CPO GREEN LABEL
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 12 (ANTARA) - Indonesia, the world's largest crude palm oil (CPO) producer, will continue to fight for the inclusion of the commodity in the list of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)'s eco-friendly products. Leaders and representatives from 21 member economies of APEC approved a list of 54 environment-friendly goods, at the summit in Vladivostok in Russia that ended on Sunday, which will result in tariff reductions up to 5 percent by 2015. However, CPO, one of Indonesia's mainstay products, was not included in the list. The Indonesian Association of Palm Oil Companies (GAPKI) regretted the APEC rejection of the Indonesian proposal asking for the inclusion of palm oil in the list. Yet, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) is optimistic that CPO will later be added to the list of APEC's green products. The approved items are not green goods themselves, rather goods which are conducive to environmental protection. "The exclusion of CPO from the list of environment-friendly products approved during a recent APEC meeting is not really a failure. It is only a matter of time (before crude palm oil is included in the list) and the Indonesian government is still fighting to this end," said Kadin Chairman Suryo B Sulisto on Tuesday. Earlier, GAPKI expressed regret over the failure of the government to fight for the inclusion of the commodity in the list, saying the Indonesian government failed to rally enough support for its proposal in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Vladivostok, Russia. "The APEC meeting was important, although there is no binding regulation on its members to comply with a decision. However, it is still regrettable that CPO failed to gain APEC approval for reasons that are not yet well known," said GAPKI chairman M. Fadhil Hasan on Monday. Indonesia is the world's largest CPO producer with an annual production of about 24 million tons and has oil palm plantations covering 7.3 million hectares of land area. In 2011, its CPO production was recorded at 23.5 million tons, of which some 16.6 million tons were exported. Palm oil production in 2010, meanwhile, was recorded at about 22 million tons, with only 15.6 million tons being exported. By 2020, the country expects to increase its annual production of CPO to 40 million tons. The figures give Indonesia the potential to become the exclusive CPO supplier for the world market in the future. At present, the crude palm oil industry is the country's second largest foreign exchange earner after the oil and gas sector. Indonesia has been a target of criticism, especially in Europe, over accusations that the country has destroyed its tropical forests to provide space for oil palm plantations. "In the beginning, we were hopeful that Indonesia would succeed in having CPO declared as an environment friendly product," Fadhil said. He added that CPO deserves to be declared environment-friendly because after the implementation of the "Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil" (ISPO) scheme, palm oil companies are required to adopt sustainable principles while processing their products. ISPO is a verification system used to strengthen the sustainability of the country's palm oil, domestically and internationally. "If all palm oil companies in Indonesia adopt ISPO, CPO could be categorized as an environment-friendly product," Fadhil said. According to Indonesian portal, 'Bisnis.com', the failure to include CPO as one of 54 eco-friendly products in APEC's list is not closing the possibility for Indonesia's CPO to penetrate the global market through a tariff reduction facility. "CPO demand is still high in the global market, so it is still competitive, although it is subjected to an import tax tariff", said the Head of Fiscal Policy Agency, Bambang Brodjonegoro. Such a tariff reduction facility will set a maximum import tax tariff cap of 5 percent. The tariff for eco-friendly products will reach 30 percent or go higher, if the facility is not applied. GAPKI chairman M Fadhil said that APEC approval would be positive for exports as the import duties on CPO would not be more than 5 percent in its member countries. He, however, added that GAPKI remains optimistic that demand for Indonesian CPO would continue to grow in the world market. "There is a possibility that import duties on CPO in APEC member countries would be cut under bilateral trade agreements", he said. Moreover, Bambang says that Indonesia can still propose a tariff reduction facility through the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) mechanism if it fails to do so through APEC. "Indonesia can, for example, propose a free trade agreement with Pakistan. We export CPO to them with a free import tax tariff," he said. Indonesia also has other free trade agreements for CPO export such as those with ASEAN FTA and Australia-New Zealand-ASEAN FTA. "Our export is not only to APEC member countries. It's possible for Indonesia's CPO export to penetrate other markets," Bambang was quoted as saying by Bisnis Indonesia online. However, the decision to classify CPO as an eco-friendly product is still in the hands of APEC ministers. Such a decision, which is based on the APEC ministers' consensus, is still debatable at the level of APEC's economic leaders. The Indonesian government, for its part, is continuing efforts to get CPO included in the APEC list of eco-friendly goods. Kadin is optimistic that CPO will soon be included in APEC's list of eco-friendly products. "The exclusion is not really a failure. It is only a matter of time before CPO gets included in the list of eco-friendly goods and the Indonesian government is still fighting for it," said Kadin Chairman Suryo B Sulisto. If Indonesia succeeds in its efforts to get CPO included in the APEC list of environment-friendly products, he added, it would be an important step forward for the country. "The products included in the APEC list are approved as green products. A number of factors determine whether a product is actually environment-friendly, such as the production mechanism and the number of machines used in its production process," explained Suryo. ***2*** |